Laboratory Course in Medical Technology

Abstract

This practical course is designed to give students hands on experience in CAD, FEM, product optimization, mechanical load testing, software development and hardware utilization in robotics.

Objective

The course aims at teaching and solidifying following topics: CAD FEM Product optimization Mechanical testing Software development Hardware usage in robotics

Content

The course is aimed at improving the students knowledge on certain topics such as programming in python and biomechanics, but also teaches new skills such as using CAD software, FEM and mechanical testing. The course is split into 6 sessions, which will be completed in groups. The students will be assigned to groups at the beginning of the semester. 4 of the experiments will be geared towards the use case of designing a bone plate to bridge a critical size gap of a femur. The experiments are therefore 1) using CAD to reconstruct the initial condition and the bone plate 2) running a FEM in order to analyze the performance of the bone plate 3) with the knowledge of the FEM, optimizing the bone plate and 4) testing of the designed bone plate, the bone plate will be 3D printed. The remaining 2 experiments will 1) focus on programming a robotic arm used in rehabilitation engineering and 2) on the hardware usage of the robotic arm including force sensors and EMG.

Resources